JPH0512347A - Moving picture retrieving method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the efficiency of moving picture retrieval, to improve the usability, and to improve the user interface. CONSTITUTION:The kind of a file is analyzed by file kind analytic display processing S1 to display an icon showing the file in a window and the kind of the file is displayed in the icon. A tool which realizes an interactive retrieving method is displayed on a multi-window by tool display processing S2. Various tools in a tool group are selected by using a pointing device by tool selection processing S3. When the tool selected by the tool selection processing S3 is a retrieval tool, moving picture retrieval regarding the file is performed by moving picture retrieval processing S5 by using the retrieval tool. Further, when the tool selected by the tool selection processing S3 is a recording tool, the retrieval result as to the file is recorded by retrieved information recording processing S7 by using the recording tool.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention visually displays the types of multimedia files such as moving images and still images on a display, and interactively performs various operations related to moving image search using tools such as a search tool and a recording tool. By doing so, the efficiency of video search is improved and the user interface (operability)
The present invention relates to an improved video search method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a moving image search method has been described in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-113790. In the first method of moving picture search described in this publication, a portion representing each feature is extracted as a scene from a plurality of moving pictures, the extracted scenes are sequentially connected to create one menu image, and the menu images are searched in this order. To go. Or the second part of video search
In this method, the scenes are reduced, a plurality of the reduced scenes are collected on the screen, and the plurality of moving images are simultaneously searched for in one menu screen.

[0003]

However, the conventional first and second moving image search methods have the following problems.

(I) In the first conventional method, since the moving images are searched in the order in which the menus are created, there is a difference in the time required for the searching, and there is no use for re-searching the moving images placed at the end. Since it takes a lot of time to play the video, the efficiency of file search decreases. On the other hand, according to the second method, when the number of moving image files is small, it fits in one menu screen, but when the number of moving image files increases, it is difficult to put them together in one menu screen. Therefore, when the number of menu screens increases, the efficiency of file search decreases.

(Ii) In the first and second conventional methods,
Since a certain part of the moving image is extracted as a scene, if the creator of the menu and the searcher do not understand the same characteristics for one moving image, it becomes difficult to search for the desired moving image, which is inconvenient. Operability is low.

(Iii) In the first and second conventional methods,
Since there is only one search method, it requires the searcher to have the same degree of understanding as the scene creator's way of thinking about moving image search, which is inconvenient.

(Iv) In the first and second conventional methods,
No consideration has been given to the user interface when searching for a moving image as a type of multimedia file. The present invention has the following problems with the conventional technology.
It is intended to provide a moving image search method that solves the problems of low efficiency of moving image search, poor usability (low operability), and no consideration regarding the user interface.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first invention is a moving image search method using a computer system or the like, in which a file type in a directory is analyzed to find a file in a multi-window. A file type analysis / display process of displaying the icon shown and displaying the type of the file in the icon, a tool display process of displaying a group of tools used for interactive search in the multi-window, and a pointing device are used. Tool selection process to select various tools from the tool group,
Run.

Further, when the tool selected in the tool selection processing is a search tool, a moving picture search processing for searching a moving picture of the file using the tool, and when the tool selected in the tool selection processing is a recording tool A search information recording process for recording the search result for the file is executed by using the tool.

In the second invention, the file type analysis / display processing of the first invention includes processing for analyzing header information,
It has a process of displaying a file icon and a process of displaying the analysis result of the header information in the file icon so that the multimedia file can be visually identified.

In the third invention, the moving image search process of the first invention comprises a process of displaying a tool icon and a menu window, and a process of selecting the tool icon, the file icon and a menu by the pointing device. A desired moving image search method is selected using the pointing device.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the moving image search process according to the first aspect is a process of reading data of a frame from an image file designated by the pointing device, and the read data is repeated as needed. It has a process of displaying in a multi-window, and a moving image is searched for by a normal size image or an enlarged image enlarged to a size larger than the icon size, an outline of the moving image, and a reproduced moving image.

In the fifth invention, the moving image search process of the first invention is a process of reading header information from a file designated by the pointing device, a process of analyzing the header information, and a display of the analysis result. There is a process for doing so, and a moving image is searched by a keyword and the file information.

In the sixth invention, in the search information recording processing of the first invention, the character information for the file is created and stored by the processing of inputting the character data and the processing of storing the input character data. I am trying.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the invention, since the moving image search method is configured as described above, the file type analysis / display processing analyzes the file type and displays an icon indicating the file in the multi-window. The file type is displayed in the icon. Then, the tool display processing displays a tool that realizes the interactive search method in the multi-window. The displayed various tools are selected by the pointing device by the tool selection process.

When the selected tool is the search tool,
By the moving image search process, a moving image search for a file is performed using the search tool, and when the selected tool is a recording tool, the search information recording process records the search result using the recording tool. In this way, since multimedia is visually identified using multi-windows and icons, it is possible to easily find a video file in the directory regardless of the number of files, and improve video search efficiency, usability, and user interface. .

According to the second aspect of the invention, the header information is analyzed, the analysis result is displayed in the file icon, and the multimedia file is visually identified to perform the file type analysis / display processing. In this way, each file is displayed as an icon by using the multi-window.

Therefore, for example, in the case of a moving image / still image, a reduced image is displayed in the icon, and in the case of a moving image, a marker indicating that it is a moving image is added and visually displayed. When the moving image is accompanied by sound (music), a marker indicating that sound (music) is present can be attached, and for files other than images, the type of file can be shown in the icon. With such a display method, from among multimedia files,
Video files and non-video files can be visually identified, and search efficiency and usability can be improved.

According to the third invention, by displaying the tool icon and the menu window, selecting the tool icon, the file icon and the menu by the pointing device, and selecting the desired moving image search method by using the pointing device. , Performs video search processing. As a result, the moving image file and the file other than the moving image can be visually identified, the search efficiency and usability are improved, and the user interface can be improved by the interactive search operation.

According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the invention, for example, a normal-size display process, a browse display process, a keyword search process,
There are provided several types of moving image search methods such as moving image reproduction processing and file information display processing. Then, each search method is made into a tool, and a group of these tools is designated by a pointing device, so that the search method can be selected according to the feature of the moving image file captured by the searcher. As a result, the user interface is improved by the interactive search operation, and the search efficiency can be improved.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the function of holding the search result, for example, the clipboard is provided, by recording the searched moving image, the re-search is not required and the efficiency of the moving image search is improved. To do. Therefore, the above problem can be solved.

[0022]

【Example】

(I) Configuration of Video Search Device FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a video search device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

This moving image retrieval apparatus has a bus 1, and on the bus 1, a central processing unit (CPU) 2 for program-controlling the entire apparatus, a memory 3 for storing programs and working data, files, etc. Is connected to the disk 4 that stores various data. A display unit 5 such as a CRT, a keyboard 6 which is an input device, and a pointing device 7 such as a trackball, a mouse, and a light pen, which is excellent in inputting information coordinates, are connected to the bus 1.

(II) Overall Description of Video Retrieval Method FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the video retrieval method showing the embodiment of the present invention using the video retrieval apparatus of FIG.

This moving image search method is used for file type analysis /
Display processing S1, tool display processing S2, tool selection processing S
3, determination processing S4, moving image search processing S5, determination processing S6,
The search information recording process S7 and the determination processes S8 and S9 are included.

Next, the processing contents of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 4.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are views showing a display example of the processing of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 (a) shows a file display window, and FIG. 3 (b) shows a tool group display example. It is a figure.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the multimedia file structure of FIG.

In FIG. 1, when the moving image search process is started, in the file type analysis / display process S1, the CP of FIG.
U2 analyzes the file in a certain directory, identifies the file type such as moving image / still image / sound (music) / execution / text, and displays it in the window on the display unit 5.
An example of the window displayed by this file type analysis / display processing S1 is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3A, in the file display window 10, for example, 6 types of files are provided.
1 to 6 are displayed. Each of the files 1 to 6 is displayed with a file icon 11 having a fixed shape and a file name. The files file 1, 2, and 4 are moving image files, and the file 2 is accompanied by sound. The file file3 is a still image file, the file file5 is an execution format file such as execution / text, and the file file.
Reference numeral 6 is a voice (music) file.

In the case of the still image file file3, the reduced image 12 is displayed in the file icon 11, and in the case of the moving image files file1, 2 and 4, the reduced image 12 of a certain one frame image is displayed, and further the moving image is displayed. A marker display 13 indicating that is added. When music is attached, the marker display 14 is added. In the case of file6,
A display 15 that can be visually recognized as an audio file is shown in the file icon 11 by a note symbol or the like. fil
e5 displays the format in characters.

The header information shown in FIG. 4 is used to analyze these multimedia files. The file type identification code in FIG. 4 distinguishes between moving images, still images, and sounds. Execution / execution format file such as text (fil
e) 5 does not have this header as it is not a multimedia file. In the case of a moving image / still image, the data pointed by the pointer to the display image in the file icon 11 is read and displayed at a predetermined position.

The tool display process S2 in FIG. 1 is a process for displaying a group of tools for realizing an interactive search method. An example of the tool group is shown in FIG. Figure 3 (b)
In, the arrow is the cursor 20 moved by the pointing device 7. Pointing device 7
When the background of the file display window 10 is selected by using, the tool group 30 is displayed.

The tool group 30 includes "Scal" of the tool 31.
Video display tool indicated by "e", "Bro" of tool 32
Browsing tool corresponding to skipping shown as "wser", keyword selection tool by keyword candidate selection shown as "Keyword" of tool 33, video playback tool shown as "Motion" of tool 34, and "Information" of tool 35 File information display tool shown and "Clipbo" of tool 36
It consists of a search information recording tool indicated as "ard".

The tool selection process S3 of FIG. 1 is a process of selecting one tool from the displayed tool group 30 using the pointing device 7, and the processing result is sent to the determination process S4. In the determination processing S4, the selected tool is a search tool from the tool 31 "Scale" to the tool 35 "Information" shown in FIG. 3B, or the tool 36 "Clipboar".
It is determined whether the recording tool is a d "recording tool. Determination processing S4
When the search tool is selected in step S5, the process proceeds to the moving image search process S5, and when the recording tool is selected, the process proceeds to search information recording process S7.

In the moving image search process S5, one of the five types of search tools is searched for a moving image, and the determination process S6 is performed.
Then, it is determined whether or not this search process is repeated.
In the search information recording process S7, when the recording tool is selected in the determination process S4, information is recorded, and the determination process S8 is performed.
Then, it is determined whether or not this recording process is repeated.
Then, in the determination process S9, it is determined whether or not the processes from the tool display process S2 to the moving image search process S5 and the search information recording process S7 are to be ended. If not ended, the process returns to the tool display process S2.

(III) Moving Image Retrieval Process by Tool of Processes S2 to S9 of FIG. 1 FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the moving image retrieval process by the tool of Processes S2 to S9 of FIG. In this figure, S
11 to S25 indicate processing steps.

When the moving image search process starts, in S11,
Input the coordinate values with the pointing device 7 and press
Proceed to 12. In S12, the input coordinate values are as shown in FIG.
It is checked whether or not it is the position of the file display window background indicated by. If the input coordinate value is the position of the file display window background, the process proceeds to S13. In S13, the tool group 30 shown in FIG. 3B is displayed. After this display processing, the process returns to S11 and waits again for input of coordinate values.

If the position is not the position of the file display window background in S12, the process proceeds to S14. S14
Determines the position of the tool group 30 shown in FIG. 3B and which tool 31 to 36 has been selected. If the input position is the position on the tool group 30, go to S15. move on. S15 is the tool 33 "Keyw
The cursor 20 is transformed into a shape corresponding to each of the tools 31 to 34 and 36 except "ord", and the process proceeds to S16.
Deletes the tool group 30 when a certain tool is selected, and proceeds to S17. In step S17, the attribute of the tool selected in step S14 is set. After the setting, the process returns to step S11 and waits for input of coordinate values again.

In S14, the input position is the tool group 30.
If it is not in the upper position, the process proceeds to S18. In step S18, it is determined whether the position is on the file icon 10 shown in FIG. 3A. If the position is on the file icon 10, the process proceeds to step S19. In S19, it is checked whether the attribute of the tool has already been added by performing the processing of S17. If the attribute of the tool has already been added, the process proceeds to S20. When the attribute of the tool is not given, the process returns to S11 to wait again for input of coordinate values.

At S20, the tool group 3 shown in FIG.
It is determined whether the search tool of tools 31 to 35 out of 0 is selected or the information recording tool of the tool 36 is selected, and when the search tool is selected, S21 When the recording tool is selected, the process proceeds to the search information recording process of S23.

In S21, a moving image search process is performed, and in the determination process S22, it is determined whether or not to repeat the moving image search process selected in S14. When it is repeated, the process returns to S11. In the search information recording process S23, the search information is recorded, and in the determination process S24, it is determined whether or not to repeat the search information recording process selected in S14. When the search information recording process is repeated, the process returns to S11.

If it is not on the file icon 11 in S18, it is determined in the judgment processing S25 whether or not the moving image search processing by the tool is to be repeated, and when it is repeated, the processing returns to S11.

(IV) Video Search Processing S21 of FIG. 5 FIGS. 6A to 6E are flowcharts of the video search processing S21 of FIG. 5, and FIG. Figure (b) is a flowchart for searching by browsing, (c) is a flowchart for searching by keywords, (d) is a flowchart for processing by moving image reproduction, and (e) is a flowchart for searching by file information display. is there. Screen examples of each of these processes are shown in FIGS.

FIG. 8 shows a screen example of the search by the same size display of FIG. 6A, FIG. 9 shows a screen example of the search by browsing of FIG. 6B, and FIG. 10 shows a search by the keyword of FIG. 6C. A screen example, FIG. 11 is a screen example of the information tool submenu of FIG. 3B, FIG. 12 is a screen example of search by moving image reproduction of FIG. 7D, and FIG. 13 is a file information display of FIG. 7E. An example of the search screen and FIG. 14 are shown in FIG.
The respective screen examples of the search by the file information display are shown below.

(IV) (1) Contents of FIG. 6 (a) In S13 of FIG. 5, the tool 31 "Scale" of FIG. 3 (b) is used.
When the normal size display tool shown as is selected,
The search process is performed in the normal size display shown in (a). A screen example of the processing is shown in FIG. When the same size display tool is selected in S14 of FIG. 5, the cursor shape changing process is performed in S15, and the cursor 21 is changed to the shape as shown in the left diagram of FIG. When the cursor device 21 is in the shape of the cursor 21 and the coordinate values on the file icon 11 are input by the pointing device 7, the same-size display processing is performed for the file.

Further, the same size display attribute is given in the process of S17 of FIG. 5, and the process proceeds to S32 after passing through the judgment step S31 of FIG. 6A. In S32, the same size display window 10a shown on the right side of FIG. 8 is opened, and the process proceeds to S33. When the image 40 displayed at the same size in the same size display window 10a is large, a scroll bar is displayed. S33 is shown in FIG.
Of the header information shown in, the data pointed to by the pointer to the image data is read out and displayed at a predetermined position. The Quit button on the right side of FIG. 8 is a button for erasing the same-size display window 10a.

(IV) (2) Contents of FIG. 6B In step S14 of FIG. 5, the tool 32 "Browses" of FIG.
When the browsing tool corresponding to the skipping shown as "er" is selected, the process shown in FIG. 6B is performed, and a screen example of the process is shown in FIG.

When the browsing tool is selected in S14 of FIG. 5, the cursor shape changing process is performed in S15,
The cursor 22 is changed into the shape shown in the left diagram of FIG. When the cursor 22 is shaped and the coordinate value on the file icon 11 is input using the pointing device 7, the browsing process is performed on the file.

Further, the browsing attribute is given in the process of S17 of FIG. 5, the judgment step of S41 of FIG. 6B is passed and the process proceeds to S42. In S42, the browsing display window 10b shown on the right side of FIG. 9 is opened, and the process proceeds to S43. When the image 40 displayed at the same size is large, a scroll bar is displayed.

In S43, the header information shown in FIG. 4 is moved from the position pointed by the pointer to the image data to the position of the browsing start image, and the data is read out.
The read data is displayed at a predetermined position, and the process proceeds to S44. In S44, it is determined whether or not the browsing display is started. When the browsing display is started, the process proceeds to S45. By pressing the start button in FIG. 9, the determination step S44 is passed and the process proceeds to S45.

In S45, the pointer is moved to a position where the data for a certain fixed number of frames is skipped, the data is read and displayed. By repeating this data skipping and reading, a browsing display like a skipping is realized. When the browsing display is completed, the browsing start image is displayed again in S43. Qui in the right diagram of FIG.
The t button is a button for deleting the browsing display window 10b.

(IV) (3) Contents of FIG. 6C In step S14 of FIG. 5, the tool 33 "Keywo" of FIG. 3B is used.
When the keyword search tool displayed as "rd" is selected, the search process by the keyword shown in FIG. 6C is performed, and an image example of the process is shown in FIG.

When the keyword search tool is selected in S14 of FIG. 5, the keyword search attribute is given in the tool attribute setting process of S17, and the determination step S5 of FIG. 6C is performed.
After passing 1, proceed to S52. In S52, the keyword candidate selection window shown in the left diagram of FIG. 10, that is, the search keyword input window 10c is opened, and the process proceeds to S53. S5
As shown by the selected keyword 51 in the left diagram of FIG. 10, 3 selects a keyword from the keyword candidates using the pointing device 7, and proceeds to S54.

In S54, as shown by the relationship 52 between the keywords in the left diagram of FIG. 10, the relationship 52 between the keywords in S53 is selected by AND / OR (and / or) using the pointing device 7, and S55 is selected. Go to the judgment step. In S55, it is determined whether or not to start the keyword search, and by pressing the Find button on the left side of FIG. 10, the determination step S55 is passed and S5 is entered.
Go to 6.

In S56, the data stored in the keyword portion of the header information shown in FIG. 4 is checked for each icon-displayed file, and S53 and S5 are checked.
A file matching the condition of No. 4 is searched, and a marker 15 is displayed on the searched file as shown in the right diagram of FIG. The Quit button on the left side of FIG. 10 is a button for deleting the search keyword input window 10c.

(IV) (4) Contents of FIG. 7 (d) In step S14 of FIG. 5, the tool 34 "Motion" of FIG. 3 (b) is used.
When the video playback tool indicated by "n" is selected,
The process by the moving image reproduction shown in FIG. 7D is performed, and an image example of the process is shown in FIG.

When the moving image reproducing tool is selected in S14 of FIG. 5, the cursor shape changing process is performed in S15, and the cursor 23 is changed to the shape shown in the left diagram of FIG. When the cursor device 23 is in the shape of the cursor 23 and the coordinate value on the file icon 11 is input using the pointing device 7, the moving image reproduction process is performed for the file.

Further, the moving image reproduction attribute is given in the tool attribute setting process of S17, and the determination step S61 of FIG. 7D is performed.
After passing through, proceed to S62. In S62, the moving image reproduction window 10e shown on the right side of FIG. 12 is opened, and the process proceeds to S63. If the image is large, a scroll bar is displayed. In S63, of the header information shown in FIG. 4, the data of the first frame pointed to by the pointer to the image data is read, the read data is displayed at a predetermined position, and the process proceeds to the determination step S64. In S64, it is determined whether or not to start the moving image reproduction, and by pressing the moving image reproduction button 53 in the right diagram of FIG. 12, the determination step S64 is passed to S65.
Go to.

From the left, the moving picture playback button 53 is in the order of forward fast forward, backward playback, backward forward, still, forward forward, forward forward, forward forward. S
65 reads and displays data in accordance with the pressed moving image reproduction button 53, displays the reproduction time from the first frame to the currently displayed frame in the reproduction time display field 54, and further displays the reproduction frame display field. The number of frames currently displayed at 55 is displayed. The Quit button on the right side of FIG. 12 is a button for deleting the moving image reproduction window 10e.

(IV) (5) Contents of FIG. 7 (e) In step S14 of FIG. 5, the tool 35 "Info" of FIG. 3 (b) is used.
When the file information display tool denoted by "" is selected, the processing shown in FIG. 7E is performed, and an image example of the processing is shown in FIG.

When the file information display tool is selected in S14 of FIG. 5, the information tool submenu shown in FIG. 11 is displayed, and the pointing device 7 is displayed.
Is used to select either all file information display of "all files" or one file information display of "onefile". When 1 file information display is selected, the cursor shape is changed in S15, and the cursor 24 is changed to the shape shown in the left diagram of FIG. When the coordinate value on the file icon 11 is input in the shape of the cursor 24, one file information display process is performed for the file.

Further, by the tool attribute setting process of S17, the file information display attribute and the all / one file display attribute are given, the judgment steps S71 and 72 of FIG. 7E are passed, and the process proceeds to S73 or S75. S73 is S72
When it is determined that all the files are displayed in, the all file information display window 10f shown in FIG. 14 is opened, and the process proceeds to S74. In step S74, all the files displayed as icons are analyzed and the information is displayed in a table format as shown in FIG.
The Quit button in FIG. 14 is a button for deleting the all file information display window 10f.

In S75, when it is determined in S72 that one file is displayed, the one file information display window 10d shown in the right diagram of FIG. 13 is opened, and the process proceeds to S76. In step S76, the data stored in the header information shown in FIG. 4 is read for the designated one file, and the detailed information is displayed as shown in FIG. The Quit button on the right in this figure is
This button is for erasing the 1-file information display window 10d.

(V) Search Information Recording Process S23 of FIG. 5 FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the search information recording process S23 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the screen of FIG.

In S14 of FIG. 5, the tool 36 of FIG.
When the search information recording tool indicated as “Clipboard” is selected, the search information recording process of FIG. 15 is performed, and a screen example of the process is shown in FIG. 16.

When the search information recording tool is selected in S14 of FIG. 5, if there is information recorded so far,
All of the search information recording window shown in the right diagram of FIG. 16, that is, the recording window (clipboard) 10g is displayed. The cursor shape is changed in S15, and the cursor 25 is changed to the shape shown in the left diagram of FIG. When the coordinate value on the file icon 11 is input in the shape of the cursor 25, the search information recording process is performed for the file.

Further, the tool attribute setting process S17 of FIG.
Then, the search information recording attribute is given, and the process proceeds to S82 after passing through the determination step S81 in FIG. In S82, FIG.
Recording window (clipboard) 10 shown at right
Open g and proceed to S83. At this time, of the header information shown in FIG. 4, the data stored in the file type identification code section is read, the code is analyzed, and the file name and the file type are displayed on the recording window 10g, and the process proceeds to S83. .

S83 is a save button, a memo column, and a delete button in FIG.
The selection of the button is judged and S84, S85 or S86
Proceed to either.

S84 is a clipboard erasing process when the Delete button is pressed, and the information recorded for that window and the recording window 10g are recorded.
Erase. In the memo writing input processing of S85, the cursor 25 is moved to the memo column and memo writing is input. S8
The clipboard saving process 6 is a process when the Save button is pressed, and the information on the recording window 10g is recorded. The Quit button on the right side of FIG. 16 is a button for deleting the recording window 10g, but does not delete the recorded information.

As described above, this embodiment has the following advantages.

(A) In this embodiment, the file display window 10, the normal size display window 10a, the browsing display window 10b, the search keyword input window 10c, the one file information display window 10d, the moving image reproduction window 10e, and the all file information display. Since the multimedia file is visually identified using the multi-window such as the window 10f and the file icon 11, the moving image files file1, 2, 4 can be easily found in the directory regardless of the number of files.

(B) As shown in FIG. 6, the moving image search method includes five steps of the same size display process, browsing process, keyword search process, moving image reproduction process, and file information display process.
There are two ways. In the normal size display processing, if the memory of the content of the moving image file is clear to some extent, it can be confirmed only by viewing the normal size image. In the browsing display process,
Memories are not very clear, but can be confirmed without looking closely. In the keyword search process, when a moving image file is created, if several kinds of keywords are added from the keyword candidate group as necessary, the number of search target files can be reduced. In the moving image reproduction processing, the contents of the moving image file can be confirmed in detail by performing reproduction and reverse reproduction. In the file information display process, the creation date and time, the attached information such as the image size can be used for confirmation rather than the storage of the moving image file content.

Since five moving image search methods are prepared in this way, even if the creator of the moving image file and the searcher are different, it is possible to perform a search according to the memory and understanding of the searcher, and the search efficiency is improved. Improves usability.

(C) Since the search information recording process S7 of FIG. 1 is provided with the function of retaining the search result, it is not necessary to search the same file again, and the search efficiency is improved.

(D) Since the various tool groups 30 and the pointing device 7 are used, it is possible to search for a moving image without depending on the keyboard 6, and the user interface is improved.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the moving image search process S5 of FIG. 1 may be modified to a process content other than that of FIG. 6, or the search information recording process S7 may be modified to a process other than that of FIG. Further, the moving image search device of FIG. 2 may be added with other functional blocks or the like for improving accuracy.

[0077]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since a multimedia file is visually identified by using a multi-window and an icon, a moving image file is stored in the directory regardless of the number of files. Can be easily found. This improves the moving image search efficiency and usability. Since it has a function to retain the search result by the search information recording process, by recording the searched movie, it is not necessary to search the same file again.
Video search efficiency is improved.

Further, since each search means is made into a tool, and these tools are designated by the pointing device, the search method can be selected according to the moving image file feature that the searcher has grasped, and the pointing can be done without depending on the keyhold. The interactive search operation using the device improves the user interface and improves the search efficiency. According to the second invention, a marker having a multi-window, each file is displayed by an icon, for example, a reduced image is displayed in the icon in the case of a moving image / still image, and a moving image is displayed in the case of a moving image. And display it visually. Also, if the video is accompanied by audio (music), audio (music)
When a file other than a moving image has a marker indicating that the file exists, the file type can be shown in the icon.
With such a display method, it is possible to visually identify a moving image file and a file other than a moving image from among multimedia files, and search efficiency and usability are improved.

According to the third invention, a desired moving image search is performed by selecting a tool icon, a file icon and a menu using a pointing device, so that the user interface is improved by interactive search operation. However, the search efficiency is significantly improved. Moreover, even if the number of moving image files and the number of files other than moving images increase, the moving image file search can be performed easily, thus improving usability.

According to the fourth and fifth inventions, several kinds of moving image search methods such as the same size display process, browsing display process, keyword search process, moving image reproduction process, and file information display process can be prepared. Therefore, even if the creator of the video file and the searcher are different, a search according to the memory and understanding of the searcher can be performed by selecting the search method according to the feature of the video file that the searcher is capturing. Therefore, by designating a tool group with a pointing device, the user interface is improved by an interactive search operation, and the search efficiency and usability are significantly improved.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the function of retaining the search result is provided, by recording the searched moving image, it is not necessary to search the same file again, and the moving image search efficiency is improved. Remarkably improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of processing contents of a moving image search method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration block diagram of a moving image search device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display example of the processing of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a multimedia file structure of FIG. 1.

5 is a flowchart showing a moving image search process by the tool of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a moving image search process S21 of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a moving image search process S21 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a search in the normal size display of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of search processing by browsing of FIG. 6 (b).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a display example of a search process using the keyword of FIG. 6 (c).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a display example of the information tool submenu of FIG. 3B.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of search processing by moving image reproduction of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of search processing by the file information display of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a display example of search processing by the file information display of FIG.

15 is a flowchart of a search information recording process S23 of FIG.

16 is a diagram showing an example of an image in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 CPU 3 memory 4 disk 5 display unit 6 keyboard 7 pointing device 10 file display window 10a same size display window 10b browsing display window 10c search keyword input window 10d 1 file information display window 10e video playback window 11 file icon 20 to 25 cursor 30 Tool group 31 to 36 tools S1 file type analysis / display processing S2 tool display processing S3 tool selection processing S4, S6, S8, S9 determination processing S5 video search processing S7 search information recording processing

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shio Kure             1-7-12 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Oki Electric             Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A file type analysis / display process of analyzing a file type in a directory and displaying an icon indicating the file in a multi-window, and displaying the file type in the icon, and an interactive search. Tool display processing for displaying the tool group used in the multi-window in the multi-window, tool selection processing for selecting various tools from the tool group using a pointing device, and the tool selected in the tool selection processing is a search tool. Occasionally, a video search process for performing a video search of the file using the tool, and a search information recording process for recording the search result for the file using the tool when the tool selected in the tool selection process is a recording tool A video search method characterized by executing and. 2. The moving image search method according to claim 1, wherein the file type analysis / display process is a process of analyzing header information, a process of displaying a file icon, and a result of analysis of the header information being the file icon. And a process for displaying the contents, and visually identifying a multimedia file. 3. The moving image search method according to claim 1, wherein the moving image search process includes a process of displaying a tool icon and a menu window, and a process of selecting the tool icon, a file icon and a menu by the pointing device. A moving image search method, comprising selecting a desired moving image search method using the pointing device. 4. The moving image search method according to claim 1, wherein the moving image search process reads data of a frame from an image file designated by the pointing device, and reads the read data as necessary. A moving image search method comprising: repeatedly displaying in the multi-window, and searching a moving image by a normal size image or an enlarged image enlarged to a size larger than an icon size, an outline of the moving image, and a reproduced moving image. 5. The moving image search method according to claim 1, wherein the moving image search process reads header information from a file designated by the pointing device, analyzes header information, and analyzes the result. Is displayed, and a moving picture is searched by a keyword and the file information. 6. The moving image search method according to claim 1, wherein the search information recording process creates and saves character information for the file by a process of inputting character data and a process of saving the input character data. Video search method characterized by performing.